"Tjejer tänker mer tjejigt och killar mer bestämt". En kvalitativ intervjustudie om att konstruera kön på ett könsblandat HVB-hem.

Sammanfattning: The aim of this study has been to investigate how treatment staff perceive and relate to gender in everyday institutional practice. Throughout my study I examine how the treatment that aims at creating change and normalizing the young clients can be expressed on the basis of a gendertheoretical approach. My ambition has been to make it visible how the staff perceive and make gender in an institutional practice and contribute to a critical discussion on this category. Givet my studies purpose, I have asked the following questions: "In what way does staff perceive the importance of gender with colleagues as well as in the treatment work with the youths?" "What practical applications preserve or dissolve gender in the treatment institution?" The data is collected through a qualitative method based on individual interviews and a focus group interview. An important result is that the staff experiences that gender is important in both co-operation between colleagues and in the work with clients. In the analysis it becomes clear that gender has been integrated as a tool in the treatment and investigation work and that it becomes part of the normalization ambitions in treatment work. The participants make and maintain gender in all practical applications in the youth institution. Another findings reveals that the participants in the study expressed ambivalent perceptions of gender in relation to treatment work. This ambivalence was noticed as the students on several occasions stressed that the individual rather than her/his gender was relevant in the treatment work while they, at other times, gave the impression that gender matters. This finding can be explained by the impact societies values have on an everyday practice.